Yet she still couldn't help clapping and cheering, "Amazing! Well done!"
Applause rang out around them. Helian Duo quickly walked over to her. After making sure she had no other injuries, he heaved a sigh of relief. "Why did you come out?"
There was a hint of reproach in his tone, a reproach out of love.
Cheng Xiran smiled at him. "I came out to buy something. Then I saw injustice and stepped in."
"If I hadn't heard there was something going on here, I wouldn't have taken this road..." Helian Duo shook his head helplessly and continued, "If I hadn't taken this road back to the mansion, what would you have done? What would I have done?"
Cheng Xiran was stunned for a moment, and then her cheeks flushed.
Helian Duo noticed it too and quickly changed his words. "That... don't be so reckless next time. I can't be with you all the time. You should learn to protect yourself."
Seeing that the young Master Li was trying to escape while the chaos ensued, Helian Duo picked up an apple and threw it at him, hitting him right on the head.
The young Master Li fainted immediately.
Admiring gasps filled the air.
Sure enough, Helian Duo was always the center of attention wherever he went. Cheng Xiran pouted and said hurriedly, "Let's go. Take him to the government office."
Helian Duo specifically found someone to carry the young Master Li, and they all headed to the government office. On the way, Cheng Xiran told Helian Duo what had happened. Helian Duo had already been suspicious. "I noticed something just now. The silver the young Master Li used was official silver, with a unique seal from the capital."
Cheng Xiran's eyes sparkled. "So this matter is definitely related to this young Master Li?"
Seeing that they had already reached the entrance of the government office, Helian Duo stopped talking in time and stepped forward to explain the situation.
When the guards at the entrance heard it was the young Master Li, they quickly went in to inform Lord Qian.
Not long after, Lord Qian came out in person to greet them. When he saw the disheveled young Master Li, a look of surprise flashed across his face. Then he looked at the expressionless Helian Duo and Cheng Xiran and seemed to understand. He whispered to the guards, "Carry him in first."
The group entered the government office. Only then did Lord Qian dare to step forward to recognize the young Master Li, just as the young Master Li woke up.
"Brother-in-law, quickly untie me. It was them who attacked me today. Really!"
"Just shut up. Do you think I know nothing..." Lord Qian was so angry that his face turned red. He didn't even look at him, just sighed repeatedly and continued, "I've told you countless times that you should learn to be kind to others. You're already an adult. If you keep being so stubborn, you'll end up with no good result!"
The young Master Li still tried to defend himself. "Don't I still have you, brother-in-law, and sister? And I really didn't attack today. It was this man who injured me like this, and he even had the nerve to bring me to the government office..."
"So noisy."
Cheng Xiran just said casually. As soon as her voice fell, Helian Duo stepped forward and kicked the young Master Li. The young Master Li was so scared that he didn't dare to say another word.
Cheng Xiran silently cheered for Helian Duo's toughness in her heart.
Lord Qian was so angry that he kept rubbing his forehead. After a moment, he told the guards to take the young Master Li away.
After the young Master Li left, Lord Qian stepped forward and bowed to Helian Duo and Cheng Xiran. "I'm really sorry today. If he has offended you two in any way, I'll apologize on his behalf first."
Then he invited them to sit down and ordered the servants to serve tea.
Judging from Helian Duo's expression, he was clearly not satisfied. Cheng Xiran also didn't say a word and just imitated his expressionless look.
His expressionless look was intimidating, while hers was just really expressionless.
"Even if an apology is needed, it shouldn't be you, Lord Qian. In the end, this matter is the young Master Li's fault..." Helian Duo pursed his lips slightly, his eyes cold, and continued, "As far as I know, the local people have long been complaining about your brother-in-law. As a provincial governor, shouldn't you step in and manage? Instead, you've just let things go."
Lord Qian sighed deeply. "How I wish I could manage. But he's Shiyue's younger brother, my own brother-in-law. No matter how I punish him, I can't hurt him or the harmony between the two families. Shiyue has always doted on her younger brother since childhood. Even though she knows he's stubborn, she still patiently persuades him. I really don't know how to deal with it."
Helian Duo remained calm. "How to deal with it and what methods to use are your own business, Lord Qian. I only want a result, not just empty words."
Lord Qian nodded repeatedly but still pleaded, "Please forgive him this time, Young Master He. I guarantee that there won't be similar things happening in the future! I'll discuss this matter with Shiyue properly and definitely give you and your wife a satisfactory explanation. I definitely won't practice favoritism anymore."
After getting his personal promise, Helian Duo didn't say anything more.
The atmosphere was a bit silent for a while. Finally, Lord Qian broke the ice. "Didn't you say you went to the outskirts this morning, Young Master He? How's the investigation going?"
Helian Duo took a sip of the hot tea before answering. "The second batch of disaster relief funds went missing after you took over the position of provincial governor, Lord Qian. So you weren't aware of it at that time."
While listening to the two of them discussing the case, Cheng Xiran didn't have much to add, so she excused herself to take a walk outside.
Actually, there wasn't much to see in the government office. It was empty everywhere she walked, and she didn't encounter anything interesting.
When she came back after walking around, a gravel rolling down from the eaves hit her on the head. She was about to shout when she heard some noise. She took a few steps back and walked to the corridor opposite. Then she noticed a person lying on the eaves.
The person casually looked around, and Cheng Xiran was so shocked that she almost dropped her jaw.
Wasn't that person the steward of the Qian Mansion? He seemed so honest and kind. Why would he be on the eaves?
She quickly slipped away. When she returned to the front hall, Helian Duo and Lord Qian had already finished talking.
"Then we'll go back to the mansion first. Since you have important matters to attend to, Lord Qian, we won't disturb you."
After leaving the government office, Cheng Xiran just couldn't figure it out. She simply told Helian Duo everything. After hearing this, Helian Duo's face immediately darkened. "It seems that no one in the Qian Mansion is trustworthy. Why is the steward involved in this matter now?"
But at least they had a clue. It seemed they could only start with the young Master Li.
"I'll sneak into the Li Mansion tonight."
Thinking that they had been here for more than five days but still hadn't solved the problem at all, Helian Duo's face naturally didn't look good. In contrast, Cheng Xiran looked much more relaxed because her main concern was always on Helian Duo.